A new technical bulletin was released in collaborative partnership between the Window & Door Manufacturers Association and the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance. The document, AAMA/WDMA TB-24-01, clarifies the definition of a window opening control device, or WOCD, to promote greater understanding of the role of WOCDs and their function in supporting home safety.
More about WOCDs
When properly designed, tested, specified and installed, WOCDs can help prevent or reduce accidental falls from windows, while allowing the ability to open the window fully as may be needed to exit in the event of a home emergency.
WOCDs were introduced as a window fall prevention device starting with the 2008 version of ASTM F2090, Standard Specification for Window Fall Prevention Devices with Emergency Escape (Egress) Release Mechanisms, by ASTM International. ASTM F2090 is a standard for window fall prevention devices that are releasable such that a window can be fully opened for emergency escape or rescue.
Association responses
"This informative new technical bulletin will help users understand the important role of WOCDs, and how to tell the difference between them and other window hardware types like vent limiters or night latches, designed for different purposes," says Dan Raap, director of product testing and compliance at AmesburyTruth and co-chair of the FGIA Window Opening Control Device Update Task Group.
"This technical bulletin was the result of a lot of effort from our industry members and will serve as an informative and helpful document to better understand code driven window fall prevention requirements and the important role of ASTM F2090 that is referenced in the code," says Mark Mikkelson, manager of code and regulatory affairs at Andersen Corp., an active member of both associations who also worked extensively on developing the document. "It also provides important information on the requirements for an ASTM F2090-compliant WOCD and how they can help with meeting code required window fall prevention."
Download AAMA/WDMA TB-24-01 from the WDMA site or in the FGIA online store.
